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Click. The latchbolt engaged satisfyingly in the strikeplate, keeping the door closed and the blizzard outside. Anna smiled. Her makeshift repair was successful. For the last few days she had been unable to properly close the door. The weight of the snow on top of the house had made the walls shift, crooking everything. With this repair, she'd be able to raise the house temperature a bit.
She checked the heavy curtains she had fixed on the main room windows, making sure there wasn't any drafts. Her house was too far from the main generator. Her neighbourhood generator was too old and not efficient enough given the number of people living in this part of the city. Her house was scheduled for improvements since forever, but there was always some kind of emergency requisitioning the steel needed to undertake said improvements.
There. No draft. She took off her heavy coat, and retrieved the lumps of coal she had taken from the mine. It was strictly forbidden to divert coal from the generator. But every miner was doing it anyway. The engineers managing the mine were probably aware of it, and turning a blind eye. A miner who froze to death in their sleep was of no use to them.
A rumble in the pipes. Oh. So they were turning up the generator tonight. Good. She could keep this day's coal for trading. Or... were they turning up the generator because the weather observatory announced another drop in temperatures? Please no...
She had to know. She opened the heaters to the maximum so that any heat provided by the neighborhood generator would benefit her house. Emily wouldn't be home before another hour, her shift in the medical post was on staggered hours, but there was no telling when the generator would shut off again. She hid the coal at the usual place under the floorboards, except one piece that she could maybe trade for some off-the-shelf moonshine later this evening. She put back on her coat, her gloves and her cap, braced herself and opened the door.
The blizzard slapped her as she closed the door, and she fumbled blindly for the lifeline. There. She crouched to give less surface to the icy wind, and started walking in the snow trench, her left glove holding the lifeline. A crossroads. She felt and counted the knots on the line. One, two, a space, a third knot. This was the direction to the public house. On good days you could walk around without the lines: vision would guide you. On blizzard days, forget about it. Without the lines, you could get lost in your own neighbourhood. She negociated another crossroad, then another. At last, the public house. She entered the warm place with relief. So much warmer than her home.
"Oi! Anna!" Luke was seated at the bar and was hailing her. She made her way across the room to join him. He was working in the same team as her in the mineshaft.
"Luke, have you heard of a drop in temperatures today? My neighbourhood generator was turned on today, I want to know if it is good or bad news."
"Haven't heard anything about that. Wanna ask around?" She nodded. "What do you drink now that you're here? Oi! Pete! Pete! Come here mate! The lady wants a drink!"
She hadn't been sure she wanted a drink. But then why come to the pub? She could have went to any other place for infos about the weather.
"Give me a glass of 'shine." Pete nodded and grabbed the bottle. "Did you heard of a temperature drop tonight?"
He shook his head. "Nothing tonight, as far as I know. But no improvements either. The blizzard will keep on."
She didn't know anyone still hoping on improvements. It was a downward trend since they had arrived here. She emptied her drink. "Ok. Thanks for the information. Say... you wouldn't happen to have too much moonshine on your hands?" She took the heavy lump of coal out of her coat.
Pete nodded. "I do." He weighted the coal. "Nice piece." He bended and reached out under the bar. According to the sounds coming from there, he got some liquid to flow from one bottle to another. He came back up, handed her a metal canteen.
"I'd like the canteen back." She nodded. He took three glass shots out from behind him. Poured some moonshine in each. Luke Pete and she took a shot each and downed it. They hit the small glasses on the wood of the bar. She pocketed the canteen.
"Oi! Mary!" Pete was shouting again. The man had the ability to spot anyone from their crew at the second they entered the place. Mary joined them and soon they were downing drink after drink. The place was almost warm and the alcohol made it warmer. Anna wanted to spend the night here. Some did. The authorities turned a blind eye as long as they were not causing any trouble. But she couldn't. She had a wife to go back to. She got up on her feet, saluted her drinking buddies, and stumbled to the door.
The cold bit her face, sobering her up a bit. She caught the lifeline in her hand and made her way home. The snow was already refilling the trench, the walk was harder than the previous one. But she couldn't stop, she had to get indoor as fast as possible. Finally she was here. Inside. The house was much less warm than the pub, but it was still so much better than outside. And a bit warmer than when she had left. Mary was here.
"You went to the pub again?"
"The house were... weren't... was too cold."
"Dammit Anna."
"But I brought some! For you. And I fixed the door."
Mary's face softened a bit.
"I've noticed the door. Thanks. There's some soup on the stove."
Anna gulped the soup as quickly as possible and moved to the bed. She took the canteen out and handed it to Mary. She undressed quickly and slipped between the sheets. Mary had taken only a few sips of moonshine before putting the canteen away.
The two women spooned to keep as much heat as possible trapped between their bodies.
"How was your day?"
"Average, I'd say. Not too much patients, but a nasty frostbite. The head nurse was in a good mood for once, that was nice. Yours?"
"Good but exhausting. The vein we're in has almost run out, we're digging for scraps..."
They fell asleep while chatting in each other embrace.